Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-09-01

being fHtigued. ne fell into d 1oze, with
his head resting upon his arms OF the sill
OF an open window. How long he lay
In this position he does not know; but
dusk had settled down into darkness,
when he was suddenly awakened by the
report Off gun or pistol near him This
he heard distinctly; but he Immediately
fell TO to the floor, in an unconscious
condition, and from that time he has no
knowledge of what transpired until he
came To himself, about noon the next
dny, in st. Johns hospital, whittier he
had been conveyed about midnight in the
city patrol wagon.
A couple of policemen passing his
house, about II O'Clock, heard moans
Within, and, upon examination, found
the old man lying upon the ioor with a
pool of blood about his head. The hos
pital surgeon was called, and found that
Weemes had been shot just above the
left temple. The ball bad nude a fear
full hole, and evidently passed diagonally
across the head, tending somewhat down
ward, Its track mad been SO near the
socket of the right eye SIS to force that
organ forward almost out of the head.
1t was regarded AZ useless to attempt to
do anything for him, and he merely re-
ceiyed such minor attentions as natural
human sympathy suggested. When,
however, he began to recover conscious
ness, the surgeon carefully dressed the
wound. He found that the hole in the
skull was SO large that he could place
the f~ore.inger its whole length directly
into the hraia, and from a depth as great
as this fragments of the skull were
picked out. Still the surgeon had no
hope of his recovery. Other surgeons
were called in and they reached similar
conclusions. They thought tie patients
extra, binary vitality might produce
temporarily encouraging symptoms, but
they really expected death within a week
at least. The pulse sank into the forties
and remained there for dsys. Still he
gained perceptibly in vivacity and cour-
age, and secuted the idea that his condi-
ton was dangerous. 10 the doctor, on
/ am suffering very little pain. OF course
I'll get we'll. Why shouldn't II,
About this time distinct signs of heal
ing were visible about the edges Of ths
wound, the patients appearance began K
improve, and with this the force mud FIRE.
quenoy OF the pulse increased. A slow,
but steady, subsistence Of the fever Their
set in INT continued, till at the end oil
the twelfth day the physician said: 81 an
forced to believe that Weemes will re-
cover. When first seen him after hi
WAS shot I would not have given d MCKEE
for his chances. He was shot claa,
through the brain, from side to side, ans
apFat tly not living by anything tina,
yon ceuld call vital circulation, hut mere
~ by the unsupported action of the mus
culRr forces. 1t shows that no injury tt
the brain ia 30 bad as to be utterly hope
less II there is life, and that nons IL 8,
trifiing as not to justify serious atten
ton.
II 10 now nearly five weeks sine,
Weemes was shot, and he Is up ans
around daily, sleeping regularly and we'll
does NOT scem nertaliy injured and wha
is almost equally strange, has thu sigh
of both eyes Hnimpaired. He will leay,
the hospital in a few days.
The shooting remains q profound
mystery. 1t seems scarcely nosaihle TIKI
1t could have occurred accidentally
Weemss has led q most inoffensiss life
and says he cannot think there is hum.
an being alive who could have eyer
wished him Ill, much less attempted to tax,
his life. On all hands the Case is a vetJ
curious n